Reclined Cobbler’s Pose
supta baddha konasana
This is one of my favorite poses for relaxing and
just feeling good. It stimulates the heart and improves general circulation, and stretches the
muscles of the inner thighs, hips, and knees.
This pose also helps relieve the symptoms of
stress, mild depression, and menstruation. I
love it.
Step by Step:
1. Begin by sitting criss-cross on the floor. Take
the feet in your hands and place the soles of
your feet together. Inhale as you lift and
lengthen the spine, and exhale as you lower
back toward the floor, first leaning on your
hands. Bring your torso all the way to the
floor, and spread the arms out to the side
palms up, or rest the hands gently on your
belly. Rolling the head gently and slowly back
and forth will help keep any tension out of the
neck.
2. The natural tendency in this pose is to push
the knees toward the floor in the belief that
this will increase the stretch. But especially if
your muscles are tight, pushing the knees
down will have just the opposite of the intended effect. Simply relax and let gravity
Images & Info used with permission from Teisha Preece
offer the stretch. Options to consider: placing
a rolled blanket under your torso, along the
spine will allow the heart and shoulders to
open up more, which again, counteracts
hunched over sitting/screen time.
3. To start, stay in this pose for one minute.
Gradually extend your stay anywhere from 5
to 10 minutes. To come out, use your hands
to press your thighs together, then roll over
onto one side and push yourself away from
the floor, head trailing the torso.
Yoga Defined
Asana (ah-sahn-ah):
A yoga posture or pose.
Namaste (Nah-mah-stay):
Greeting or salutation. One translation
says it means “the divine essence in me
recognizes the divine essence in you.”